Tuesday, February 12, 2008

I won ad space in a competition - It wasn't big enough.

At the moment, this is the first post in a blog which will support an ad which will appear on the streets of Sydney, in Australia, from March 3rd, on bus shelters.

The ad is about pigs in factory farms, and how you can help them live better lives. However, until it's on the streets I won't go into too much detail.

The title of this post is similar to the ad's headline.

I'm a copywriter and I work with Mo Shono, an art director, at an advertising agency called Loud.

In 2006 I completed a course called AWARD School. This is a course run by a non profit organisation called AWARD (Australian Writers and Art Directors Association).

The course is designed to both teach people interested in working as an advertising creative about the work and offer an opportunity to meet people already working in the industry. Numerous advertising luminaries volunteer their time to tutor, lecture and administrate the course. This is largely because most of them have at one time or another taken the course themselves and feel a sense of satisfaction from doing so. Also, there's a fair bit of prestige attached to being asked to be involved, particularly as a lecturer.

The course is competitive. Students attend a weekly tutorial and lecture. They get a brief a week and must come up advertising ideas to present to their tutors who are themselves working creatives. The tutorials are held in agencies around the country.

The top ten students carry on to do another part of the course sometimes called Supergroup, sometimes Supercraft. In any case, it's an extension of the course.

There's normally a competitive brief offered as part of Supercraft. Sometimes there's a prize.

When I did it, the sponsor, Adshel offered the prize. This was the prize that I won which has allowed me to create the ad for which this blog is created.

16 comments:

Luke, your using your free ad. space to raise awareness of the cruelty to factory farmed pigs has left me speechless. You seem to be a Humanist (like me) and appreciate that people, when provided with the truth, do care about how their food is produced. You have tapped into THE most important element for the progress of animal rights: The Media. Wouldn't it be wonderful if powerful ad. agencies across Australia offered free-space for similar environmental and animal rights issues? It doesn't seem fair that the multi-billion dollar corporations can have a 20 metre high billboard to advertise underpants or alcohol when there are so many MORE important things to tell the public about. Well done! You are a STAR.

Brilliant! I haven't seen the ad in person yet but can't wait to. Anything that brings awareness about this horrendous industry is great and it seems that finally this awareness is now breaking through to the general public.I've been doing stuff for some years with a pig action group, handing out flyers etc but an ad like this is going to reach so many more people.You've done a great thing!

This is awesome - shame it's not country wide though! I'd love to see some photos of the ads in action, and I hope you post some stats on your traffic to this blog, to give an indication of how far it's reached :)

You've done a wonderful thing using your prize for such a good cause. :)

I would love to get you to help save the feral camels in Australia from aerial culling , pigs and camels need a PR campaign , it all helps , keep up the clever efforts mate , you really came up with a good campaign

From across the globe (the Netherlands actually) way to go!!A very clear ad, loud and clear...I hope it does the great cause a lot of good, when people know about this let's pray they make the better choice - go veggie, hehe!

Dear Mr Fox,Thanks for your ad! To be clear, I do eat some meat, and had a family link with beef production through my Dad's animals, which were always free in their paddocks and well fed. Though scrupulous in my selection of free range poultry products, I had not ever considered the origins of pork products.

I am writing to my grocery store (one of the big ones) with direct reference to your ad, asking it to explain the source and conditions of its pork product.

Rather than just "me be moved" by your effort, I think we need to get the grocery stores to press growers to conform - or else I and by extension the store - will simply NOT BUY THE PRODUCT. There will be no market for what you have described.

Thanks Luke, you have opened my eyes to something that I (as an animal lover) should have discovered myself. Through your actions I will now research animal products for their production method and if not free range then go without.

I don't eat meat so I am especially concerned at the mistreatment of farm animals. It is good that this subject is finally getting the publicity it deserves so if animals have to be farmed then it can be done humanely. Good on you Luke for using your prize on a very worthwhile cause and I think the ad is great.